'Strange' Chilean Creature A Marsupial

Translation (C) 2002 Institute of Hispanic Ufology

A specialist from the University of Santo Tomás stated that it
is a monito de monte, a small mammal that lives in the Valdivian
rainforest and hides during the day.

SANTIAGO, October 25: The mysterious creature which caused
expectation throughout Chile and which was even reputed to be
extraterrestrial in origin turned out to be a mammal known as
Monito de Monte (literally, mountain monkey). This was the
statement made by veterinarian and professor of the Univ. of
Santo Tomas, Arturo Mann, who subjected the specimen to
analysis. The specialist, who was one of the few scientists who
had access to the specimen found by a family in Concepcion,
stated that--based on his knowledge and publications--he can
assure with a 90% certainty that the species is terrestrial in
origin.

"After a preliminary analysis and without seeing it in "macro"
fashion, I have concluded that it is earthly. In other words, a
little animal, a mammal that presents hair, nails, fingers. It
is earthly and even terrestrial, which is to say, it's not a
flying animal. It shows appendages suited to walking and even
for digging, with long nails. The body shows some damage,
possibly from animal predation or poor care [in the handling] of
this little animal.

Terra.Cl: What is it, then?

"It is a small mammal, known as a micromammal, specifically a
marsupial and given the region it was found, would correspond
with a high degree of certainty to a "monito del monte". To
reach the conclusion that it is this "monito" or a marsupial, we
are mainly based in the fact that the anterior members present
five fingers with an opposable thumb. This means that the animal
can grip branches using its hand. That's why it's called
"monito" (little monkey).

Terra.Cl: It is commonly found in the southern area of the
country?

Not very commonly. It's a hard animal to find. Possibly these
people came across a moribund animal.

Terra.Cl: In this case, can we speak of a foetus or a newborn?

"It's a newborn, possibly weakened. Bear in mind that
marsupials in Chile hibernate during the winter. By not having
any food, they go to sleep in April or May, and in late August
and September, they emerge in a lethargic, weakened state to
find food. This makes them more vulnerable to attacks by other
animals or to die from climactic conditions."

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